Proper method for naming a boat?

btsunfish

New Member
Does anyone know the proper method for naming a boat? I understand there's more to it than just sticking some vynil letters to the transom...
THANKS
BRIAN
 
Does anyone know the proper method for naming a boat? I understand there's more to it than just sticking some vynil letters to the transom...
“I hereby christen thee _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ “

Apparently naming a boat for the first time is relatively simple, just pick a name. There are some superstitions regarding selecting a name of a person who may be aboard some day. That specific person would then be in conflict with the boat, with bad luck befalling the person and not the boat for the voyage. Then again, this doesn’t seem to have stopped innumerable boats being named for wives and lovers. Maybe so long as you tell it like it is and name the boat Peggy Sue I and the wife Peggy Sue II all will be right with the boat.

Most of the advice I’ve come across involves name choice rather than the a ceremony surrounding officially bestowing a moniker. Reflections of personality, the adversity of ownership, and the ever popular double entendre topping the selection list.

Here’s a brief ceremony:
http://www.boatus.com/news/namegame.htm

For further research:
http://www.boat-links.com/boatlink.html
 
I'm cosidering putting the name on the bow rather the transom because it would be easier to see, but leaving the hailport on the transom. Do you think I should put the name on both sides or just one?
 
The Kids and I named our boat Sunny ,we did not put the name on her cause we all know who she is;)
 
I decided not to name my boats, instead I just refer to them by the year they were made. My boats are 69' and 84' and I figure as long as I dont get 2 boats from the same year this works prety well.
 
Does anyone know the proper method for naming a boat? I understand there's more to it than just sticking some vynil letters to the transom...
THANKS
BRIAN

The most important part of the process is picking a good name. It requires a lot of thought. A poor name will reflect poorly on you. A cool name tells everyone you are cool.

My old 5o5 was named Over Easy--like eggs. A name like that on a Sunfish with a white and yellow sail, yellow mainsheet and halyard, is an example of a name that matches the boat, and it is a boat that flips over often--so you want to go over easy.

A horrendous name will have people thinking you are a duffus.

Simple names are good too. I hadn't thought about naming my first Sunfish--I found the boat at a yard sale and bought it for $250. I named it after the sail I bought, Patriot--red, white, and blue color scheme.

I chose Threat for my next Sunfish--because it matched.

My third boat I got for free. I named it Scud because it sounds like a POS. And it was, but also Scud is a missile, and it means "to skip across the water".

I'm keeping the name on my fourth Sunfish Wasp, but I've already ordered a new sail for it. I'm changing the sail to alternating Black and Yellow stripes. I plan to change the halyard and sheet to yellow also. I just ordered this sail to be made for me custom. I'm looking forward to getting it.

11.jpg


I plan to buy two more Sunfishes in the next year.

I'm thinking Hornet for my fifth Sunfish--at which time I'll probably move the Yellow and Black striped sail, and yellow lines over and change the pattern on Wasp's sail to mostly black with a single stripe each of yellow and orange--to make it look like a Paper Wasp. I'll give it a black mainsheet and yellow or orange halyard.

I'm now selling Maple Leaf Sails, so I may name my sixth boat Canada and use one of those sails, and the boat for advertising and marketing. I'm not Canadian, but I love the sail. So it has earned itself a spot and picked a name for me.

Canada-Maple-final-1.jpg


Or maybe not. I have another idea for a name. I have a year or more to decide.

I like old fashioned names. Wasp goes way back to the designer Herreshoff. You can find inspiration everywhere. I have a big list of cool names for boats--ready for when I buy the boat. You should too.

One final thought. I hate long boat names. A name should be one word, preferably. Two of my boats have names of four letters. My big boat is Echo. I changed the name from Intrepid because everyone screwed in up on the radio. Echo is a letter in the phonetic alphabet, it has an associated color scheme by virtue of it's code flag Blue and Red, and it is short enough to fit on my transom. It works for many reasons. Short names and large letters mean it can be read a mile away. I like that.

Some people like to have a theme song for their boat. I raced on a boat that played Green Onion every time we left the harbor. I would have renamed the boat Green Onion--one cool name that overrides my short name and one word name rule by virtue of being such a cool name.

One group of guys I know bought a boat together and could not agree on a name. One of the owners had a much bigger boat of his own. My friend used electrical tape to spell Mini Me on the back. The electrical tape was like a cool font. The whole look of the boat was transformed, and the boat took on a new personality overnight--it was very cool.

Generally, I chose a simple Times Roman font, because a name should be easy to read, from a distance.

Use a nice vinyl transfer and put the name on both sides of the bow. I sell these things if you want a quote.

As far a ceremonies are concerned, make up anything you want.

It is not as important as choosing a "great" name and giving the boat personality and life.
 
I'm cosidering putting the name on the bow rather the transom because it would be easier to see, but leaving the hailport on the transom. Do you think I should put the name on both sides or just one?


Both sides. Don't bother with the hailing port. There is no room for it. It won't look right. If you do put the home port, put it on the transom is very small letters.
 
I was going to name my boat "No Problem" then, on the underside "Problem" for when it capsizes. :p

I thought the proper method involved a bottle of champagne? Actually two, one to break on the bow and the other to drink. That way the boat AND the captain get a drink. :D
 
I was going to name my boat "No Problem" then, on the underside "Problem" for when it capsizes. :p

I thought the proper method involved a bottle of champagne? Actually two, one to break on the bow and the other to drink. That way the boat AND the captain get a drink. :D

That is a great name. Very funny.

Why not just put the name on upside down?

 
Coming from many generations of sailors (great great grandfather was a freight Captain and harbor pilot in Riga, Lativa) and being a former submarine sailor myself, I like the idea of naming a boat.

I think its an important part of sailing and tradition..all boats have their own personality and the name should reflect this and/or the personality of the boat and owner.

If I wanted something that did NOT have a personality I would play video games.

just my 2 cents...

-Erik
 
I was going to name my boat "No Problem" then, on the underside "Problem" for when it capsizes.
LOL..., that was in vogue when I was a kayaker. Since Sunfish also show a little cheek from time to time it might be a fun trend to carry over. I may consider adding the words "Over Exposed" to the bottom of my knock around fish. :eek:

Coppertone.jpg
 
with al the help & info from this forum and the yahoo group, i thought about naming one of my boats 'The Wayne', but decided to go with "Flame' & 'Orchid' with decals from the Dharma Initiative since both boats are from the '70s.
200x160_DharmaFlame.jpg
 
I was going to name my boat "No Problem" then, on the underside "Problem" for when it capsizes. :p

I thought the proper method involved a bottle of champagne? Actually two, one to break on the bow and the other to drink. That way the boat AND the captain get a drink. :D

LOL! Love the Idea.

I like to give things (and pets for that matter) kind of obscure names that not only might reflect their personality, but the circunstances in which acquired them:
" So...Trueke, hum. What does that means?"
"Tthe cat's name is pronounced Giro or Gyro?"
"Why did you named him Porto?" (My Son)
"Cohiba?!?! Really?!?!?"

Great conversation starters
 
It is perfectly ok to steal a name from another boat located far away.

One of my favorite boat names belong to a competitor when I raced Etchells in San Francisco. The boat was named: Honey Ketchum

I plan to use it at some point. It is a good name for a racing boat.
 
The naming of vessels in Canada is governed by Transport Canada's Canadian Register of Vessels. Uniqueness is the primary qualifier. I didn't search too hard for rules on onscenity, questionable taste, etc. For a detailed explanation and FAQ, see this link:

http://www.tc.gc.ca/marinesafety/oep/vesselreg/registration/faqs.htm

Now, Sunfish don't quite fall into the scope of these rules, since they are not required to be registered. Some of us, however, do take our information where we can get it, and start in this forum. So if you are in Canada, and have a bigger boat in addition to your old standby 'fish, you might find the site of interest.

BTW, it was too frickin' cold to paint this past weekend. My 'fish needs one more coat of top paint before reassembly for sailing. First weekend of summer, my butt!

Cheers!

John Kabel
London, ON Canada
 
On Saturday, first the rudder kicked up, then the wind picked up, and then my brand new birthday boat and I got washed up against a concrete breakwater, resulting in nasty scratches and two small holes...so I am thinking of Holier than Thou, Holy Mackerel, Swiss Fish......
 
On Saturday, first the rudder kicked up, then the wind picked up, and then my brand new birthday boat and I got washed up against a concrete breakwater, resulting in nasty scratches and two small holes...so I am thinking of Holier than Thou, Holy Mackerel, Swiss Fish......


Poor Us (porous)
 
On Saturday, first the rudder kicked up, then the wind picked up, and then my brand new birthday boat and I got washed up against a concrete breakwater, resulting in nasty scratches and two small holes...so I am thinking of Holier than Thou, Holy Mackerel, Swiss Fish......



With that, I'd name it "Audacity". :D

It sounds like a girl's name, but she certainly has the audacity lol!

Edit: Screw that! That's what I'm naming my boat. She had the audacity to pull the deck cleat on her maiden voyage after restoration. Then she let go of an outhaul. Yep, she's "Audacity".
 
My grandfather named his old motor boat after his 3 children. The first 2 letters from each of their names. KaMaLo. I will follow in the naming process as soon as I have a boat big enough to name, CarBenDel-

Just call it "A Hole", in the water to throw money in to
 
My Pearson Sunfish was named "Shifts Happen" My current Sunfish is named "Blind Pig" (as in "If he roots around enough, even a blind pig will find an acorn now and then.") But my favorite racing boat name was in a J-24 named "Pit Bull on Crack."

Alan Glos
Cazenovia, NY
 
The Sunfish is guaranteed to be unsinkable. There's only one other boat that came with that guarantee, and it's sitting on the bottom of the North Atlantic, so the name's available. So I named my boat "Titanic".
 
I named my boat after a granddaughter: she was thrilled and proud. Name it for someone or something you love and pass it on!

Fred
 
I bought mine at a church tag sale after it was dragged out of an old barn that was threatened by Hurricane Irene. And, so, my first sailboat, my lovely Sunfish, is "Irene".
 
Husband joked about naming our two fish "Banger & Mash" which might be cute as a pair, but do you really want to being seen sailing around on "Banger" or "Mash"? Might make people stay out of your way, I guess ...
 
Funny how this thread keeps popping up. When I picked up my Phantom it had HEATWAVE in three inch stick on your mailbox type letters on the aft deck. (I've played that song live and have grown tired of it). The name was the first thing to be removed when I started the cleanup process. I was going to name it Music of the Night, but that seemed to long. Anyway, now it only says Phantom on the starboard side, the port side letters have been removed because some of them were missing. Since I use a Sunfish sail with no logo, maybe I'll take the rest of the Phantom letters off. Then I'll have a completely anonomous boat. I was also thinking I could put a slogon (upside down of course) on th transom that says If You Can Read This Please Flip Me Over.
 
I just had an idea from the "No Problem" idea:

Paint the hull, daggerboard and rudder black and white so that it looks like a killer whale when it is upside down in the water, then name the boat "ORCA" or "Willy".
 
If we are getting convoluted with names annyway, then maybe it depends on whether you are putting the name on the stern, or further forward on the sides.

If it's on the stern you might go with something like "Clear Ahead". On the sides and further forward, something like "Inside Overlap" might work. Then you just have to get other boats to start hailing you by name (hey, you're....!), or you can at least announce yourself in a crowd.
 
"Spalding, get your foot off the boat!"

"Judge Smails: It's easy to grin / When your ship comes in / And you've got the stock market beat. / But the man worthwhile, / Is the man who can smile, / When his shorts are too tight in the seat.
[chuckles several times]
Judge Smails: Okay, Pookie. Do the honors.

"I christen thee, "The Flying Wasp"

CRACK


4356926_std.jpg
 

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